Board of Directors - Dreams for Schools

meet the board of directors

Mark Percy

Chair & Board Member

President of CEO Leadership Alliance 

Mojdeh Eskandari

Board Member

President of Enovant Foundation

Ramgopal Rao

Board Member

Chief Executive Officer of LensGen, Inc.

Neil Sahota

Board Member

IBM Master Inventor, Author, Business Advisor

Nithin Jilla

Ex-officio Member

Founder & Executive Director of Dreams for Schools

Mark Percy

Chair & Board Member

President of CEO Leadership Alliance 

Since June 2019, Mark has served as president of the CEO Leadership Alliance Orange County with a mission to cultivate OC into a premier, inclusive tech talent hub and a vision of helping to build a thriving OC for all.
 
For the prior decade, Mark served as a philanthropic advisor to individuals and families. During this period, he has assumed many roles to benefit his long-term clients, including Executive Director of the Kay Family Foundation, board member of the Marvin Buzz Oates Charitable Foundation, Chair of the Workforce Development Committee of the OC STEM Initiative based at UC Irvine, and Executive Director of the OC Excellent Public Schools (OCEPS) Initiative based at Chapman University.
 
From 1986 to 2008 he held executive positions, including SVP and then president of a consulting firm in Washington DC that empowered US companies, such as AT&T, Motorola, Westinghouse, and United Technologies, to expand business in emerging market economies. For four years he led the government business development initiatives of a Fortune 500 corporation.
He currently serves as board chair of Dreams for Schools which promotes education equity by bridging gaps in STEM, specifically Computer Science, for elementary and middle school institutions across SoCal.
 
Mark received his BA from Stanford University, MBA from Yale University, and is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®).

Mojdeh Eskandari

Board Member

President of Enovant Foundation

Mojdeh’s multicultural upbringing shaped her character to become a change agent, resourceful leader, problem solver, business mentor, and philanthropist. During her career she has assumed senior executive roles for highly competitive international high tech companies in Asia, Europe, and the US. She has a passion for adventure, innovation, selfless leaders, and connecting ideas and resources to make amazing things happen.

Currently Mojdeh is the President of Enovant Foundation, Managing Partner with Bayspring Ventures, Founding Partner of InnovatorsOC, and Executive Producer of TEDxLA..

Ramgopal Rao

Board Member

Chief Executive Officer of LensGen, Inc.

Ram is a serial entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in the ophthalmic pharmaceutical and device industry. Ramgopal is inventor, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of LensGen, Inc., a clinical stage medical device company that is developing a novel intraocular lens for presbyopia.

Currently he is also Chairman of the Board of 2C Tech Corporation, Inc., an emerging medical device company that is developing a novel nanotechnology application for preservation of vision for patients with degenerative retinal diseases.

Neil Sahota

Board Member

IBM Master Inventor, Author, Business Advisor

Neil Sahota (萨冠军) is an IBM Master Inventor, United Nations (UN) Artificial Intelligence (AI) subject matter expert, and Faculty at UC Irvine. With 20+ years of business experience, he works with clients and business partners to create next generation products/solutions powered by emerging technology. His work experience spans multiple industries and Neil is one of the few people selected for IBM’s Corporate Service Corps leadership program that pairs leaders with NGOs to perform community-driven economic development projects. For his assignment, Neil lived and worked in Ningbo, China where he partnered with Chinese corporate CEOs to create a leadership development program.

In addition, Neil partners with entrepreneurs to define their products, establish their target markets, and structure their companies. He is a member of several investor groups like the Tech Coast Angels and serves as a judge in various startup competitions and mentor in several incubator/accelerator programs.

Nithin Jilla

Ex-officio Member

Founder & Executive Director of Dreams for Schools

Nithin Jilla obtained his B.S. in Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine. Nithin has an interest in technology, education and enjoys working collectively with leaders to bring about positive impact. He aspires to build models and systems that are sustainable and empower the next generation of youth to become leaders in their local community. He is a passionate educator and social entrepreneur who champions educating and empowering the next generation of innovators.

Nithin has been involved with AppJam+, the main outreach initiative of Dreams for Schools since it was created in 2012. He serves as the Founder & Executive Director of Dreams for Schools. In addition, Nithin also serves on several non-profit and advisory boards which include OC Grantmakers, Harbor Day School, The National Asian American Community (NAAC) Foundation, and the UC Irvine Alumni Association Board of Directors.